Snake Eyes – Taipans at Kings

The CQUniversity Cairns Taipans deserve to feel good coming up against the Sydney Kings as the Snakes aim to record a third win already in #NBL21 against them at Qudos Bank Arena on Sunday.

It hasn't been the season so far that the Taipans were hoping for in 2021, there's no hiding from that, but two of the four wins the Snakes have recorded so far having come against the Kings.

Cairns was able to beat Sydney at home to start the season and then most recently in Melbourne at the NBL Cup so the Snakes will take a degree of confidence into Sunday's clash on the road even if the teams are coming off wildly contrasting Friday night results.

It was the resumption of the regular NBL season following the conclusion of the NBL Cup in Melbourne, and Sydney scored a 28-point win on their home floor against Melbourne United while the Taipans headed over west and went down to the Wildcats by 18 points.

But less than 48 hours later and a lot can change, and the Snakes have flown across the country to Sydney to get ready to take on the Kings and here are five things to keep a look out for:

1. SNAKES WITH CONFIDENCE AGAINST KINGS
Not much might have gone right for the Cairns Taipans so far in #NBL21, but life against the Sydney Kings has been good and the Snakes hope that continues on Sunday

With two wins already under their belts against the Sydney Kings this season and with so much to like from the performance against them at the NBL Cup, the Cairns Taipans do deserve to head into Sunday's game feeling good about their prospects.

Even dating back to last season with both teams reaching the finals and Sydney the regular season champions and getting to the Grand Final, the Taipans performed well against them.

They only lost narrowly at home in the season-opener before an impressive 109-98 win in Sydney and then a tight loss back at Qudos Bank Arena in the race to the playoffs.

The Taipans again played the Kings in the first game of this season at the Cairns Pop-Up Arena and it turned out to be a thrilling finish with the Snakes ending up winning 87-86. 

There were plenty of good signs for Cairns with 17 points, eight assists and seven rebounds from Scott Machado along with 15 points from Mirko Djeric, 13 points and six boards from Majok Deng, 12 points from Kouat Noi and 12 points and 11 rebounds from Cam Oliver.

While the Kings bounced back with a 99-91 a week later also in Cairns, when the two teams met at the NBL Cup in Melbourne earlier this month, the Taipans delivered an impressive performance with plenty to like.

This was a fascinating game but in the end the Taipans were impressive to score their second win of the season against the Kings, and for what was just their second win in eight attempts during the NBL Cup.

A dominant showing inside from Nate Jawai who delivered 22 points, six rebounds and three assists in just 15 minutes of court time was instrumental in the win with Jordan Hunter, Tom Vodanovich and Craig Moller unable to stop him but Jarell Martin wasn’t there for Sydney. 

Fabijan Krslovic also had a career-best night for Cairns with 15 points and 10 rebounds while Scott Machado put up 24 points and four assists. 

There was a lot to like from what the Taipans produced and they looked a much different outfit by having that threat of Jawai down low. 

The Kings did get a combined 60 points from the starting backcourt of DJ Vasiljevic and Casper Ware including a career-best 32 from Vasiljevic. But by the end of the night, nobody could argue that Jawai was the major difference between the two teams.

So with that performance fresh in the memory and with the Taipans having won three of the last five against the Kings, they should be feeling good about their chances come Sunday.

2. RECOVERY HAS BEEN THE FOCUS SINCE FRIDAY
Playing in Perth on a Friday night and backing up in Sydney less than 40 hours later against the Kings is no easy task but the Taipans focused on getting themselves as fresh as possible

Every team is going to have challenges this season but there's no question backing up to play in Sydney on Sunday afternoon after playing in Perth on Friday night is a significant one.

The Taipans finished the NBL Cup in Melbourne last Friday night and then resumed the regular season on Friday with a trip out west to take on the Perth Wildcats on Friday.

The Snakes did fight hard after a rough start with some encouraging signs over the last three quarters but as always against Perth, it was a tough, physical game and the focus for the Taipans immediately went on to recovery post-match.

The players jumped straight in the pool to begin the recovery process and trying to freshen up as much as possible while preparing to play 40 hours later and fly across the country thrown into the mix.

But that has been the focus for the Taipans and coach Mike Kelly knows that the least they could do in preparation of taking on the Kings on Sunday was to try to be in the best possible shape they can be physically given the circumstances.

"We spoke after the game as a group a little bit and Mirko was the first one in to talking about focusing on getting our bodies right to be ready to play in Sydney," Kelly said.

"These guys keep believing in themselves and what we're doing so there's no reason to come back playing hard. Our physio will have us ready physically and they did recovery straight after the game by getting in the pool and they'll get themselves ready, and be as ready as possible for Sunday."

3. THE MAESTRO JUST NEEDS MORE SUPPORT
It's hard not to marvel at the level Scott Machado continues to play at this season despite what he's battling against in a number of areas

Cairns coach Mike Kelly is tired of the treatment that his star point guard Scott Machado continues to receive, but he also knows it's on his teammates as well to take some of the pressure off him.

Machado had such a brilliant first season in the NBL where he was runner-up in league MVP voting, named the Fans MVP, included in the All-First Team and also won the Taipans MVP award.

So it's only natural he has come under increased heat from opposition teams this season, but despite their focus on stopping him the best they can, he's still delivering 17.8 points, 7.4 assists and 3.9 rebounds.

It's quite impressive that he's able to play at the level he is considering the focus of the opposition teams is on him, and after Friday night's game in Perth, coach Kelly couldn’t quite hold his tongue any longer.

Quite frankly, he doesn’t feel as though the physical treatment that Machado is receiving from defenders is legal and he would like to start to see him get looked after better from the referees.

But he's also aware that some of it falls back on to his teammates too. Machado is now the primary ball handler and shot maker on the Taipans team when a season ago he could share both roles with DJ Newbill.

Now, though, for the Snakes to be successful this season then other players do need to step up further to help Machado out with the ball handling, playmaking and shot taking and by taking on those responsibilities.

If that happens, then in turn it will make it harder for the opponents lock in on Machado so much and Kelly does hope to see both Machado's teammates help him more along with him getting some better protection from the way he's being physically treated.

"Scotty was held did you say? He was held? I have to agree. I can't say that, but I think he has been held a lot so I would agree with you. I thought you were saying he is being held physically and I would agree with you," Kelly said. 

"We do have a few other guys who can get going offensively and sometimes it comes down to making shots. 

"We didn’t shoot the ball as well even though I thought we got some pretty good looks, and then I even thought we got a little trigger shy at times where shots that guys would normally take, they hesitated on and tried to drive into a close out that was waiting for them. 

"We need to stay proactive offensively and ready when we are spaced to shoot the ball, and we'll keep talking to our guys about that. We've got some good shooters and I want them thinking like that. 

"We need those guys to be ready to catch and shoot that ball, or go to work down in the post like Nate did for a little while."

4. MORE OF THAT NEEDED FROM KOUAT
It was encouraging to see Kouat Noi be so aggressive in the first half in Perth on Friday night and to put some points on the board but now he needs to do more of that consistently

When Kouat Noi is active at the offensive end, when he is attacking the paint when he gets possession of the ball and then in turn looking for his shot the Cairns Taipans look a much better team.

Noi is just in his second NBL season but he is a vastly talented offensive player. He has great athleticism, good speed and when he elects to drive and attack the basket, it usually leads to good things for him and the team.

That opens up his shooting game too and he is a good shooter of the ball currently going at 40 per cent from the field and 33 per cent from three-point range this season.

He did stand up for 27 points during the NBL Cup in a career-best performance against Melbourne United, but he then was too willing to take a backseat over the last six games during the tournament with a season where he averaged just 6.2 points a game.

But he was much more aggressive early against the Wildcats in Perth on Friday going for 12 points in the first half. That, however, is a bit of a trend where even in games where he starts off catching fire and is aggressive, he can't keep it going for a full 40 minutes.

He finished with just 14 points for the game on Friday but the signs were good and coach Mike Kelly will certainly be encouraging him to be aggressive for longer.

"I think Kouat was due. He's a very good offensive player and as long as he continues to have confidence in himself, the shots are going to go in eventually," Kelly said.

"He's been encouraged by his teammates and coaches to take open shots and to attack the rim when he has a gap. I was happy to see the ball fall for him some and he'll continue to be assertive on offence."

5. 'REVENGE' GAME FOR THE KINGS
The Taipans don't really need their opponents having added motivation right now but Kings coach Adam Forde has labelled Sunday a 'revenge' game for Sydney

Sydney Kings coach Adam Forde hasn’t forgotten the fact that the Taipans have beaten his team twice already this season as they prepare for somewhat of a revenge game at Qudos Bank Arena now on Sunday.

Following that loss to the Taipans, the Kings hit back to beat the South East Melbourne Phoenix but then put in their worst performance of the season against the Illawarra Hawks. 

The response to that, though, has been impressive finishing the NBL Cup beating the Brisbane Bullets on the back of a 71-point second half to win 119-108.

Sydney kept that momentum going on their home floor on Friday night with another 60 points in the first half on the way to a 103-75 thumping of Melbourne United with so much to like about the performance that improved them to 8-8 on the season.

They shot 56 per cent from the field, had 25 assists to just nine turnovers and had plenty of contributors. Jordan Hunter had 18 points, Jarell Martin 15, Didi Louzada 14, Casper Ware 13, DJ Vasiljevic 11, Craig Moller nine, Tom Vodanovich eight and Shaun Bruce seven.

It's going to take some doing for the Taipans to stop all of them with the momentum they now have especially with the added motivation their coach admits to them having.

"It's a great test for us because we've lost to Cairns twice. Cairns seem to match up really well against us and we've been tested in the paint against Cairns so this is a bit of a revenge game for us," Forde said. 

"We want to play well, we want to play the way we've been training and play the way we're capable of playing, and we want to do it against Cairns. 

"They played on Friday in Perth but all our focus switches to Cairns with the idea that we want to continue with our momentum, win that first quarter and build on it from there and try to get three in-a-row."